


love at first sight (or first sound)

by doctorkilljoy



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy
Genre: College AU, Drinking, Drunk Character, Fluff, Gift Fic, Multi, Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 22:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7819927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkilljoy/pseuds/doctorkilljoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pete lays eyes on Patrick Stump for the first time in the campus dining hall and he is gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love at first sight (or first sound)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [withinmelove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/withinmelove/gifts).



> This fic was inspired by withinmelove's starting a new school, and is dedicated to her. This is unbeta'd and I'm posting it from my phone.

This was Pete's favorite part of a new semester. The incoming freshmen. They was moved into the dorms, and the new kids were trying to figure things out. Incoming freshman were always fun, either to tease or sleep with. Sometimes both. And the best place to scope them out was the dining hall.

It was the only thing Pete really missed about living on campus, was frequent trips to the dining hall to scope out the newbies. But the dorms had been a problem for Pete, which was why he had an apartment off campus with one of his best friends.

He was at one of the tables near the door, with Mikey and Gabe. Mikey was tapping away on his phone, pointedly ignoring the comments from Gabe and Pete. Meanwhile, the other two were neglecting their meals and people watching. Gabe had already spotted several freshman he'd like to fuck, but Pete hadn't seen anyone yet.

Gabe nodded in the direction of a timid blonde girl with glasses. She wore a green shirt with blue jeans, and was holding a meal tray. She looked a little lost. "What about that one? She's your type." He asked Pete.

Pete looked over at her and shrugged. "Maybe." He watched as the girl went over to a table, sitting by herself.

Pete was about to get up when Gabe swore softly. "Oh shit, Pete look at that one!"

A tall, buxom redhead in a black leather jacket walked into the dining hall. She was wearing sunglasses inside, and only had a bottle of water. She strolled past their table, Gabe staring at her the whole way.

"In your dreams," Pete said.

"Oh c'mon she's hot!" Gabe replied.

"She'd eat you alive, man," he told Gabe.

Before they could debate further, the redhead sat next to the blonde. She wrapped an arm around her, gave the girl a squeez, and handed her the water. The redhead kissed the blonde's cheek, then leaned back in her chair, hands behind her head. The blonde grinned and started talking rapidly. The redhead wore an amused smirk and nodded.

"Okay so no chance there," Gabe said, sighing. "Fuck. She'd have been fun."

"She'd have killed you."

"She'd probably kill you after the sex. She's got that Black Widow look going," Mikey chimed in.

"Welcome back Mikey Way!" Gabe said loudly, grinning. "Glad you could join us!"

Mikey rolled his eyes, but was still looking at his phone. "Are you guys done being pathetic yet or am I gonna be late for my date?"

"Ray can wait, he's a sure thing," Gabe replied, and looked around. "Buuuut... I think most of the fresh fishies are here."

Pete had to agree. The dining room was nearly filled to capacity. If there were more freshman, they probably weren't coming in that night. He was about to call it, when a boy walked in. And he was exactly Pete’s type.

He was on the short side, with strawberry blonde hair and glasses. He wore socks with shorts, and a horrifying argyle sweater vest. He was looking at the food line, and tugged on his hat, as though trying to make a decision. He was chubby and adorable, and Pete was completely gone over him.

Gabe had seen him too and was grinning wolfishly. “Nice,” he said.

But the boy turned, leaving the dining hall. Pete jumped up and nearly tripped over himself in his hurry to stop him.

“Hey!” Pete said, blocking the boy’s way. “Where you going? Aren't you gonna eat?”

“Not in the mood,” the boy replied, and tried to walk around Pete.

But Pete was persistent, and blocked him. “If you don't have anyone to sit with, you can sit with us.” Pete told him.

The boy shot him an annoyed look and said, “No thanks.” And shoved past Pete.

“Come on, hang with us!” Pete insisted, following after him.

“Hey, back off okay? Whatever hazing stuff you have in mind save it for someone else,” the boy said.

Pete laughed and replied, “Dude, we don't haze freshman. Please come hang with us? I think you're really cute.”

That got the boy’s attention. He stopped, and looked at Pete as though he were crazy. “What?”

“Cute? Like a bunny, or a puppy. Like, seriously you're the most adorable person I've seen today,” Pete insisted. “I’m Pete by the way. Please come sit with me?”

“You can’t-- No.” And he shook his head, backing away from Pete.

“At least tell me your name!” Pete insisted.

“Will you leave me alone?” He asked.

“Sure!” Pete agreed.

“I'm Patrick. Now back off.” And with that he disappeared around a corner.

Pete grinned. He'd found his project for the semester.

* * *

 

The first week flew by, and Pete didn't see Patrick in the dining hall even once. He saw the couple he'd dubbed Red and Blondie at dinner each night. And Gabe was determined to talk to the girls. But every time he worked up the courage, Red would shoot him a deadly look over her sunglasses, and Gabe would back off.

“Dude, you don't have a chance, why the hell are you even trying?” Pete asked.

“They're pretty and I like pretty people. Also I think the redhead is a vampire.” Gabe replied.

“How in the fuck… What?!” Mikey exclaimed, staring at Gabe incredulously.

“Think about it. She wears all black, she’s always got sunglasses on, she doesn't go out during the day, and you never see her eating. She's totally one of the undead,” Gabe replied.

“Okay you pretty much just described my brother,” Mikey pointed out.

“I'm still not convinced Gerard is human,” Gabe countered.

They were still bickering on the possibility of vampires, when Pete spotted Patrick. He was in line, talking to another kid with dark curly hair. Pete recognized him as Joe from one of his classes, but he couldn't remember which one. When they had their trays, Pete waved to them enthusiastically.

Joe laughed and waved back, then said something to Patrick. Patrick looked over and upon seeing Pete, he shook his head. Joe shrugged, and Patrick left the dining hall. Joe came and sat with Pete, saying, “Hey what's up?”

“Not much,” he replied. He barely managed to hide his disappointment that Patrick had left. “So you two know each other?”

“Yeah, Patrick’s my room mate. He's okay.”

“Just okay?” Gabe asked, raising an eyebrow. He shot Pete a grin when Joe wasn't looking, and Pete flipped him off.

Joe nodded. “Yeah. We haven't talked much, he's kinda shy. And to tell you the truth, he's kind of intimidating anyway.”

“Wait, that guy? Are you serious? I have hoodies scarier than that kid!” Gabe declared.

“You haven't seen him when he's pissed off,” Joe replied. “Like seriously, he goes nuclear and he hits hard. But that's not why he's intimidating.”

“Then why?” Pete asked.

“He's a music major too, and I don't think there's an instrument he can't play. He's already the pet of the department head and it's only been a week! He's got first dibs on practice rooms too,” Joe told them.

“Bullshit, no freshman gets first pick,” Mikey replied.

“He does though. Everyone admires him, he's a music genius. But since he's shy they all think he's super stuck up or something.”

Pete grinned at that, and looked at Gabe. Gabe seemed to know what he was thinking, and he nodded. Pete clapped Joe on the shoulder and said, “Then we're gonna have to throw a party so he can meet some people.”

Joe frowned. “I dunno Pete. I mean, it took two days for him to even say hello to me.”

“A party is totally what he needs!” Pete insisted. “He can have fun and say hi to everyone. And if it sucks he can get drunk and go home. It's a win win situation!”

Joe shrugged. “Whatever, man. I’ll tell him about it, but he probably won't wanna go.”

“What's this kid play again?” Gabe asked.

“Everything. But mostly drums, some guitar and piano.”

Gabe clapped his hands together and said, “I got it. If he's a drummer we should introduce him to Hurley.”

“Oh no c’mon man,” Pete pleaded.

“No no no it’ll be cool. We tell Patrick about Hurley and get him to come out and have some fun.”

It was a solid plan. Except for the part where Andy Hurley had accidentally stolen not one but two of Pete’s crushes from him. But before he could argue, Joe nodded.

“Actually yeah, that would get him out of the dorm.”

“Sweet!” Gabe said, grinning.

Pete wanted to stab him in the eye.

 

* * *

****

The party had been in full swing since ten, and Pete was having a great time. Except for the part where Patrick hadn't shown up. They didn't have a big apartment, but there were a lot of people crammed in. Pete saw several he recognized, and greeted every new person who showed up. But there was no Patrick. When Joe arrived, he simply shook his head and said, “He's locked up in a practice room. He probably won't be out until morning.”

Pete was disappointed, but he let Joe stay. He was pretty amused when he realized halfway through the party that Andy and Joe were attached at the hip.

Pete wandered, sharing drinks and stories with people. When he spotted Red, standing alone and smoking a cigarette, he was pretty surprised. Pete being Pete, he went to talk to her.

“Hey, where's Blondie?” Pete asked.

She raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Who?”

“That blonde girl you're always with,” Pete said.

“Oh, you mean Allie. She's in the can,” she replied, pushing her sunglasses up her nose.

Pete was buzzed enough that he asked, “Are you a vampire?”

She snorted. “Not hardly. Are you?”

Pete laughed. “Nah. Oh hey I'm Pete by the way, I'm one of the hosts.” He held his hand out for her to shake, and she did. He noted her grip was pretty strong.

“I'm Lee,” she replied. She exhaled, and said, “Look, I'm not a vampire. I've got an eye condition where bright lights and colors give me screaming migraines.”

Suddenly, the sunglasses and all black clothing made sense. “Shit. Well Gabe’s gonna be disappointed.”

“You mean that idiot?” She asked, pointing. Gabe was sitting on the back of the couch, holding court with several guests, making them all laugh.

“Yeah.”

“I was wondering why he invited us. I wasn't going to come, but Allie didn't want to be here by herself.”

“Your girlfriend?” Pete asked.

“Yeah. She's so damn smart and cute, but she gets anxious around new people you know? So I go with her to parties and shit, introduce her, help her with the initial hurdles.”

Pete smiled. “So you're a social butterfly?”

“Fuck no. But only one of us can be the neurotic mess at a time and this week it's her turn.” She chuckled and added, “To think I missed out on practice time for this.”

That got Pete’s attention. “You're in the music program? Hey do you know Patrick Stump?”

At that, Lee smiled. “Yeah, I know him.”

“He was invited too! Would you, like, call him and ask him to come over?” Pete asked.

“Give me the idiot’s phone number and you have a deal.”

That made Pete raise an eyebrow. “Gabe’s number? I thought you were a lesbian.”

“Bisexual. And I don't want it for me. I know this girl Victoria, she'd love him.”

Pete laughed at that, and wrote down Gabe’s cell number for her. In return, Lee walked out of the apartment, her own phone in hand. Pete crossed his fingers, and got back to the party.

About an hour later, he'd had even more to drink, and wanted some peace and quiet. The party had mostly died down, and only a few people were left in the living room. Gabe was passed out on the floor, and Mikey, Andy, and Joe had left hours ago. Lee and Allie were on their way out the door, and Pete waved to them as they went.

Pete felt a bit nauseous, and he knew the feeling well. The one that meant one more shot or sip of a beer, and Pete would be glued to the toilet the next day. Not something Pete really wanted.

They'd managed to keep most of the attendees out of the bedrooms, but Pete wasn't the least bit surprised to see a couple giggling as they let themselves into Gabe’s room.

Pete went into his room, kicked his shoes off, and collapsed on the bed. But then he felt something move, and he realized that someone was sitting on the bed. Pete rolled over a bit and blinked, not sure he could believe his eyes.

“Patrick?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“Thought you weren't coming.”

“One of the girls from the vocal program called and said she'd eat my face if I didn't show up,” Patrick replied. “I didn't wanna talk to anyone so I hid in here.”

“Lee said she'd eat your face?” Pete asked. “But she said she's not a vampire.”

Patrick laughed. “She doesn't have to be a vampire for that. Sopranos are crazy, everyone in music knows that. The only people crazier are the conductors.”

Pete smiled back. The room was spinning a little, and, he said, “I wish I hadn't drunk so much. I was gonna show you how cool I am and then I was gonna ask you out.”

“I’m not even a little bit cool,” said Patrick. “Why would you ever wanna go out with me?”

“You're CUTE!” Pete insisted. “And Joe says you can play a million things and you're so smart I can tell not just because of the glasses either you're like… Super genius smart.”

“You're drunk,” Patrick replied. He was standing to go, and Pete’s hand shot out and grabbed his.

“Please don't go?” Pete asked. “Sing me a lullaby.”

“I don't know any lullabies. And I don't really sing.”

“I don't care, make one up. Please?”

Patrick looked ready to leave, but instead he sat down again. Pete grinned and crawled closer so his head was in Patrick’s lap. Surprisingly, Patrick didn't push him off. Instead he ran his fingers through Pete’s hair, and began to sing.

Pete didn't have a word for it, but transcendent was pretty close. He let himself get lost in it, and when the song ended, he sighed and said, “I think I’m in love with you. We should start a band.”

“You’re still drunk. Get some sleep.” Patrick tucked him in, and Pete was too tired to protest. The last thing he remembered before drifting off was the sensation of soft fingers in his hair.

 

* * *

 

Pete woke up the next morning feeling like hell, but not as bad as he expected. The night before came rushing back to him, and he sighed. There went his chances of Patrick Stump becoming his boyfriend.

He rolled over, and noticed something on his nightstand. It was a glass of water that hadn't been there before. Propped up against it was a note. Pete snatched it up and read it.

“This is probably a mistake, but here’s my number. - Patrick.”

Pete grinned. He had Patrick’s number. Never mind that he thought it was a mistake, Pete would prove otherwise.

“God bless psychotic sopranos and their shy girlfriends,” Pete said to himself, then went to grab his phone. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://talkingcinemalight.tumblr.com)


End file.
